1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to removable panel wall systems of the type commonly employed for the display of merchandise in retail establishments or as “temporary” enclosures (at times referred to as “cubicles”) which are located interiorly of a permanent building for occupancy by personnel or for storage purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Commonly, panel wall systems comprise horizontal stringers or channels which are secured to the interior wall of a retail establishment, vertical standards which are secured to the stringers, and planar panels which are secured to the standards. This structure provides the background for the display of merchandise which is exhibited on shelves that are supported by brackets that are mounted on, and which project outwardly from, the panel wall system.
It is frequently desired that a panel wall system be free-standing, that is, the system is not anchored to either the ceiling or the wall of the retail establishment so that the system may be relocated within the establishment without reference to the permanent walls of the establishment. Thus, in free-standing panel wall systems, the system rests on the floor of the establishment. In certain prior art instances, the system is retained against tipping by the structural, design of the system, such as through the means of horizontal legs that are attached to the bottom of the panel wall system and which project laterally from the wall system to provide lateral anti-tipping support to the wall system. Such structural members present obstacles to the flow of customer or worker traffic, including the possibility of customers or workers tripping over the lateral projections. In other instances, the panel wall system may be stabilized against tipping over by embedding relatively large and strong posts in the floor of the establishment such that these posts extend upwardly from the floor and serve to anchor the wall system to the floor. This concept is frequently employed when the floor of the establishment comprises concrete. This concept for stabilizing the wall system against tipping requires destructive modification of the floor, is expensive to install and otherwise tends to inhibit relocation of the wall system, a most undesired result.
In one embodiment, free-standing panel wall systems desirably provide for the display of merchandise on shelves which are provided on both the front and rear sides of the wall system. This desired feature of the wall system requires that the panel wall system provide for the support of shelving on both the front and rear upright faces of the system. This desirable feature imposes upon a free-standing wall system the need for enhanced strength to provide stable support of merchandise that rests on shelves that are cantilevered from the opposite surfaces of the wall system. Notably, the overall weight of the merchandise displayed on the shelves on the front surface of the wall system may not be, and frequently is not, of the same or nearly the same, overall weight as the merchandise displayed on the shelves on the rear surface of the wall system. Thus, this factor imposes an even more demanding requirement relative to the strength and stability of a free-standing panel wall system. In another embodiment, removable free-standing panel wall systems comprise enclosures (cubicles) for housing personnel or for storage, all disposed within a permanent building, but being independent of the fixed walls of the building. These panel wall systems desirably are to be readily constructed in situ and readily removable, both at minimum expense and damage to the permanent building.
Further, known prior art free-standing panel wall systems are constructed of materials which are not fireproof or fire-resistant, partly due to the difficulty of initially installing and subsequent dismantling of the system for movement to a new location within the establishment and again installing the system at its new location.
Other devices have been developed. Typical of the art are those devices disclosed in the following U.S. patents:
U.S. Pat. No.Inventor(s)Issue Date2,037,889A. N. DoudApr. 21, 19363,934,382C. W. GartungJan. 27, 19764,034,463R. E. RyanJul. 12, 19774,118,903J. A. CoulthardOct. 10, 19784,370,838E. F. VermillionFeb. 1, 19834,459,790E. F. VermillionJul. 17, 19844,651,484E. J. RutkowskiMar. 24, 19874,991,368D. D. AmstutzFeb. 12, 19915,216,859J. L. Moreno et al.Jun. 8, 19935,341,615R. R. Hodges et al.Aug. 30, 19945,412,919M. A. Pellock et al.May 9, 19955,440,854R. P. HohmannAug. 15, 19955,791,093G. C. DiamondAug. 11, 19986,115,977T. G. Hornberger et al.Sep. 12, 20006,226,947J. J. Bado et al.May 8, 20016,425,219J. Barmak et al.Jul. 30, 2002